Apr 18, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) reacts after striking out Seattle Mariners right fielder Dylan Moore (not pictured) for the final out in the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
FLUSHING, N.Y. - As the Phillies try desperately to figure out their struggling bullpen, it's hard for fans not to yearn for the halcyon days of last year when Jeff Hoffman was part of the bullpen.
And why not? While the Phillies bullpen has been among the league's worst in the first 24 games of the season, Hoffman is off to a fantastic start as the closer for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hoffman has appeared in 10 games so far, thrown 11 1/3 innings, and has a 1.59 ERA, a miniscule 0.618 WHIP and has five saves. He has 16 strikeouts and just one walk - and that walk was intentional.
So, yeah, it's understandable if you're bitter that the Phillies let him walk while righthanders Jordan Romano, Orion Kerkering, Jose Ruiz, Joe Ross and Carlos Hernandez have been setting games on fire.
But was it the Phillies fault that he signed in Toronto and not back in Philadelphia?
If you believe President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski's comments to reporters today, then no.
“I can’t tell you that the number he ended up signing for was substantially different than the one that we ended up offering him, but he wasn’t prepared to take that at that time,” Dombrowski said.
"We tried to sign Hoffman very aggressively," Dombrowski said. "They turned down our offer and ... at the time he was still looking for more dollars and we had to make a decision on Romano or somebody else and we just didn't feel that we were going to match the dollars that he was looking to get. But we were very aggressive in trying to sign him. I can't tell you that the number he signed for was substantially different than the one we ended up offering, but he wasn't prepared to take that at that time. I think they just thought they were going to get much more."
Fair. Hoffman was looking for an even bigger payday and didn't get it. But it's not like Hoffman immediately signed with the Blue Jays. The Orioles and Braves were both interested in him, but ended up passing on signing Hoffman because they saw something in his medicals that scared them off.
Toronto eventually signed him for three years and $33 million with incentives that could make it worth up to $39 million, but it was a full month after the Phillies signed Romano.
So, that begs the question, why not check back on Hoffman after signing Romano? It's not like Romano is on a multi-year deal, and if Hoffman was going to settle for a number similar to what the Phillies offered, wouldn't it make sense to see if he would reconsider the offer he turned down a month earlier?
"Well, we had basically made our addition by then," Dombrowski said.
So, that one year and $8.5 million for Romano took the deal for Hoffman off the table?
That seems a bit strange for a team that is hell bent on winning a championship this season, doesn't it?
Look, It's hard to knock the Phillies ownership group for "not spending more" when they have the third highest payroll in the majors, but if you are all-in on a championship, why draw that line in the sand? Especially one that, in the grand scheme of things, considering how much money you are already spending on salary, isn't all that much more than you were willing to spend to begin with.
Maybe the Phillies will figure it out. Maybe they will find the answers from within. After all, Dombrowski said when things go sideways, "sometimes you have to fix things internally."
And while that's true, it's hard for fans to forget that Hoffman was once "internal" and the Phillies let him get away.
